Schools pursuing former ECU signee

Brian Wudkwych

04/28/2015

Mauldin (Mauldin S.C.) JUCO receiver Dre Massey talked about his long-time commitment to the Pirates and a potential dark horse team courting him, led by a familiar recruiter.

The recruitment of 2016 JUCO recruit and former 2014 East Carolina signee Dre Massey may have gotten more complicated.
Massey, currently ranked as two-star receiver at Holmes Community College, has been committed to the Pirates since he was still at Mauldin High School, where he was an all-state runner in the 100-meter dash.
He was a member of ECU’s 2014 recruiting class and signed a letter of intent, but complications in the process caused him to land at Holmes instead. Now, with one season left in JUCO, he has verbally re-committed to ECU.
However, teams have begun to take a little more interest in the speedy 6-foot-1, 190-pound receiver and more programs have begun knocking at his door.
“I really haven’t made a choice,” Massey said. “I’m still committed to (ECU) because I signed with them out of high school but I’m still listening to what other programs have to offer.”
According to Massey, American Athletic Conference members Cincinnati and Memphis have reached out to him with a scholarship offer, as well as Middle Tennessee State.
With the new offers, as well as the departure of ECU’s offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, who was instrumental in getting Massey to commit out of high school, the decision has become a little less clear. An unexpected team has even entered the race to land the receiver.
“I know some things have changed now that coach Riley left,” Massey said. “It kind of has me thinking because Oklahoma is recruiting me so we’ll see how that goes. I haven’t heard too much about the new coaching staff. I haven’t talked to (ECU’s) offensive coordinator yet.”
Massey has to finish one more year at Holmes and things are heating up. The two-star receiver was used in a multitude of different situations last season (receiving, rushing, returning) on his way to recording 767 all-purpose yards.
The ECU coaching staff has compared him to a significant former Pirate, due to his wide skill set and array of different positions that he can be used in.
“They had (Dwayne Harris) and they said they were going to use me like him,” Massey said. “They said they would have me in the slot, returning kicks and punts.”
Since leaving ECU in 2011, Harris has enjoyed an NFL career as return specialist, a part of his game that was further developed during his time as a Pirate.
Massey expressed his desire to play in NFL and how important that will be in his decision making process, perhaps hoping to follow in Harris’s steps,
“I’m looking at the same things, how are they going to use me, the opportunity, the exposure. The important thing is to get to the next level,” he said.
Even with other teams courting Massey, he said he doesn’t plan to rescind his commitment.
“All the players would talk about how everything is a family around there,” Massey said. “They talked about how the program is coming up and how it’s changing and a lot of big things are happening.”